Comparing Melkite And Roman Catholic Church

The Melkite Catholic Church and Roman Catholic Church are both Catholic Churches that are in federation under the authority of the Pope. Both Churches share the belief that there is ‘One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all’. They all have faith that the Holy Spirit is the giver of life and that the Lord must be worshipped and praised. The Melkite and Roman Catholic Church are also similar due to their belief that Jesus is the son of God and that Mary is the mother of Jesus and was therefore filled with more grace than any other living person. Another similarity between the churches is their participation in the 7 sacraments (Baptism, Confirmation (known as Chrismation by the Melkites), Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony).

One difference between these two churches is the difference in some of the words that they use, for example, the Roman Catholic Church word ‘mass’ is referred to as ‘The Divine Liturgy’, the word ‘sacrament’ is referred to as ‘Holy Mysteries’ and the Melkites refer to the ‘Blessed Virgin Mary’ as ‘The Theotokos’. The two churches also have very different masses (Divine Liturgies) and incorporate different elements into their masses. For example, the Melkites do not use any musical instruments during their Divine Liturgies, but rather the priests, deacons, cantors and congregation chant and sing. The Melkites also tend to perform more expressive liturgies than the restrained masses of the Roman Catholics. They repeat gestures frequently and use many icons and incense to make heaven seem